NASCAR moves All-Star Race to Dover

NASCAR’s All-Star Race is moving to Dover Motor Speedway for 2026, ending a three-year run for the exhibition at North Wilkesboro and giving the event a new format built around 350 laps on the one-mile concrete oval. NASCAR said on May 13 that the main event will be split into segments, qualifying will again include a pit stop, and the Pit Crew Challenge will be folded into the qualifying session. (nascar.com) Sunday’s race is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on May 17 at Dover, according to NASCAR’s Cup Series schedule. The event is listed at 350 laps and 350 miles, with FS1 carrying the broadcast. (nascar.com) The move gives Dover its first time hosting the All-Star Race in the event’s history, NASCAR’s event pages say. NASCAR announced last August that Dover would take over the 2026 exhibition date while North Wilkesboro shifted back to a points-paying Cup Series race. ### How is the 350-lap race supposed to work? NASCAR said the 2026 All-Star Race will open with two 75-lap segments before a final 200-lap segment decides the winner. (nascar.com) The field will be frozen after each of the first two segments, with the top 20 inverted for the restart after Segment 1 and the top 10 inverted after Segment 2. (nascar.com) The sanctioning body said only green-flag laps will count in the first two segments. The final 200-lap segment will allow normal caution procedures, and the winner takes the $1 million prize. (nascar.com) ### What changed in qualifying and the Pit Crew Challenge? The qualifying format will use a three-lap run that includes a mandatory four-tire pit stop, NASCAR said. Drivers will take the green flag, complete one timed lap, pit for four tires without fuel, and then return to the start-finish line to complete the run. (nascar.com) NASCAR said the fastest overall qualifying team will earn the pole for the All-Star Race, while the fastest pit crew during that session will win the Pit Crew Challenge. The format ties the crew competition directly to lineup-setting instead of staging it as a separate event. (nascar.com) ### Who is in the field at Dover? NASCAR’s entry list shows 36 drivers entered for the All-Star weekend Cup event at Dover. The list includes full-time Cup drivers such as Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell, along with Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch for Trackhouse Racing. (nascar.com) The field structure is smaller than a standard points race because the All-Star Race remains an exhibition with eligibility rules and transfer spots. NASCAR’s event coverage says Dover is the sixth venue to host the race. (nascar.com) ### Why did NASCAR take the event away from North Wilkesboro? NASCAR announced on August 20, 2025, that Dover would host the 2026 All-Star Race and North Wilkesboro would receive a points-paying Cup date instead. In that announcement, NASCAR executive Ben Kennedy said fan feedback after the 2025 All-Star Race was “the biggest factor” in the change. (nascar.com) North Wilkesboro had hosted the All-Star Race for the previous three years, according to NASCAR and Delaware Online. The 2026 move resets the event at Dover while keeping North Wilkesboro on the Cup calendar in a different role. (msn.com) ### When does the weekend start, and where can fans follow it? NASCAR’s weekend schedule lists track activity beginning Friday, May 15, at Dover Motor Speedway. The schedule page includes practice, qualifying and race-day timing for the All-Star weekend. (nascar.com) Sunday, May 17, is the next milestone on the Cup calendar, with the All-Star Race set for 1 p.m. ET at Dover before the series returns to points racing with the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. (nascar.com 1) (nascar.com 2) (nascar.com 3)